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KCF Technologies has received a grant from the Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center (SGICC) to focus on expanding shale gas-related innovations and technologies.

State College, PA (PRWEB)February 20, 2014

KCF Technologies has received a $20,000 grant from the Ben Franklin Shale Gas Innovation & Commercialization Center (SGICC). This is the first grant awarded as part of the funding that SGICC received through Governor Corbett’s “JOBS1stPA” initiative, called “Discovered in PA ―Developed in PA.” This grant is focused on expanding shale gas-related innovations and technologies. The grant was announced this morning at 10 a.m. at KCF’s South Fraser Street offices near the main campus of The Pennsylvania State University, where KCF Technologies was born.

The event got under way with a welcome and introductory remarks by Stephen Brawley, President and CEO of Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania. Brawley spoke briefly of the importance of the key mission of his organization and this grant ― bringing together large, established energy producers and small, innovative technology companies like KCF to the advantage of both parties, creating new jobs, products and opportunities that benefit Pennsylvanians.

Other featured speakers at the event included Pennsylvania’s Department of Community and Economic Development Secretary C. Alan Walker, a man with extensive background in the state’s energy industry. Walker told the assembled crowd that the non-conventional gas industry’s successful commercial development of the Marcellus Shale was “a game-changer” for the Keystone State, returning it to its historic position in the top tier of America’s energy-producing states ― “and the best is yet to come.”

Along with company co-founder and PSU Emeritus Distinguished Professor Gary Koopmann, KCF Technologies’ Chief Operating Officer and Marketing VP David Shannon expressed gratitude for the grant, which he said would be used to develop demonstration projects showcasing the ability of KCF’s versatile wireless Smart Diagnostics sensors to monitor reliability in rotating machinery at gas sites, and to devise training programs for the non-conventional gas industry. He noted the installation of the KCF-designed and built sensors was underway that same morning at Universal Well Services, based in Punxsutawney, Pa.

Funded by the Ben Franklin Technology Development Authority, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Central and Northern Pennsylvania is an initiative of the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. It provides investment capital, operational assistance, and entrepreneurial support to emerging tech-based companies and small, existing manufacturers for the purpose of creating and retaining jobs in Pennsylvania. In addition to the cash prizes, successful applicants gain exposure to investors, potential partners, and industry sponsors.

KCF Technologies is a dynamic technology company that develops and commercializes embedded intelligence solutions for industry and the military. The company vision is to be a leader in the development of federally funded technologies and bridge the gap to successful commercial products by establishing strategic partnerships.